Tag: Semitism

Dear Hashem,
I am writing to you because I am very confused. I am going through a hard time in my life right now. Over the last few years, there have been many times that I’ve felt my world was crashing down. I’ve felt a lot of pain and distress lately. Therefore, I am asking You why have You done this? What did I do to deserve some of the things that occur in my life?

The 2012 B'nai B'rith World Center Survey on Contemporary Israeli Attitudes Toward Diaspora Jewry also found that an overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews disagree with calls on American Jewry to "boycott the settlements," while thirteen percent support such a boycott. And 51 percent of respondents said that “encouraging Aliya” is the best government response to anti-Semitism.

The main title of my new book, From Ambivalence to Betrayal: The Left, the Jews, and Israel, may raise a few eyebrows. To what “betrayal” am I referring? Surely neither anti-Semitism nor hostility to Israel can be seen as prerogatives of leftism; and if they do exist in some quarters of the Left, is that not an example of “legitimate criticism” of Israel, a country regularly pilloried in international forums as one of the last remaining bastions of Western colonialism?

The BDS movement against Israel is growing in Germany, hitting the transportation, tourism, music, agriculture, . Critics say the obsession with Israel while human rights are being systematically abused in Muslim countries such as Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia is a reflection of anti-Semitism.

Polish officials called on President Obama to apologize for using the term "Polish death camps." While Holocaust historians say the record of Polish behavior during the Holocaust is vexed and contradictory.

Some 5,000 French Jews participated in an aliyah fair in Paris. The fair, organized and run by the Jewish Agency, took place on the Sunday of Francois Hollande's election as their new president, beating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy—the Jewish community's favorite. A recent poll found that 26 percent of those surveyed said they have considered emigrating due to French anti-Semitism.

There is a reason that “the average Israeli” elected the son of Benzion Netanyahu, a man who shares his father’s values — because they too share his view of history. This is precisely why they believe that he would not sell out their interests.

Among its results, the study found that 72% of Polish citizens agree or strongly agree that "Jews try to take advantage of having been victims during the Nazi era," and that 68% of Hungarians share this sentiment. Nearly 70% percent of Hungarians also think that "Jews have too much influence" in their country.

Hannah Rosenthal, President Obama's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and Malmö mayor Ilmar Reepalu share similar perspectives on the root cause of anti-Jewish hate crime in Europe - namely, Jewish support for Israel. Thus, over the course of Rosenthal's visit, they can be expected to downplay the severity of anti-Semitism in Sweden and focus their attention on Islamophobia instead.

The occurrence has taken on disturbing overtones. The unfortunate youth has become a symbol of racial unrest. He has been called a “martyr for the cause.” It is, of course, possible that Trayvon’s race was a factor in this tragedy. But not every act of violence perpetrated against blacks is necessarily racially motivated, just as not every act of violence against Jews is necessarily fueled by anti-Semitism.

Stop the presses! The 78-year-old retired calypso singer and Nation of Islam leader accused Jews of controlling the government, the media, and finance and entertainment, and repeated many of the past anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that have made him America's foremost promoters of anti-Semitism to a legion of followers. He also thinks "somebody" is plotting an Obama assassination.

The Friends Seminary of New York was unwilling to cancel the scheduled appearance of Gilad Atzmon, even after learning that he was a virulent anti-Semite who questions the Holocaust but believes that it may be true that Jews kill Christians to use their blood for religious purposes. But they have canceled my appearance because they didn't like the tone of a private letter that I wrote to them that was critical of the Headmaster's failure to comply with his promises.

Ambassador Hannah Rosenthal spoke on February 14 at the Aventura-Turnberrry Jewish Center. Rosenthal is employed by the State Department as the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism in 193 nations around the world.

People expressing reasonable, measured criticism of Israel cannot, of course, be considered anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. However, animus to Zionism itself – simply the existence of the democratic Jewish state – frequently betrays denial of Jews’ basic rights and history.